Dear TBZ community:
The Jewish calendar and rhythms of celebration and commemorations are always incredibly profound. We go from Pesach, to Yom Hashoah, followed by Yom Hazikaron & Yom Ha’atzmaut*, all these during the count of the Omer which is bringing us to Lag Ba'Omer and to Shavuot. Some of these commemorations are biblical, some are modern and some in between. These weeks can feel like a roller coaster zipping us from a celebration of redemption, or of the possibility of redemption, to memorials of pain and hatred and suffering, and back to celebrations of survival and the gifts of Torah.
Last Wednesday evening I participated in our first interfaith Yom Hashoah commemoration, organized by the Brookline Clergy Association & the Terezin Music Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to amplifying the musical legacy of the artists imprisoned in Terezín (Theresienstadt), a WWII Nazi concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic. I stood with Jewish and non-Jewish friends and colleagues remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust and the six million Jews who were killed.
My friend Raana Mumtaz representing the Brookline Muslim Friends said in her remarks: “Our purpose as Christians and Muslims for being here tonight is simple. It is only to say we see you. We honor you. And we want you to know our faiths demand that we stand with you.”
And my colleague and friend, Reverend Jeffrey Mello from St. Paul Episcopal Church said: “After the recent attack at Congregation Beth Israel Temple in Colleyville, Texas, we were all reminded that, while tonight we remember the great atrocities of the Holocaust, we are never far from the violence that bigotry and ignorance foster. So tonight we stand with you, our neighbors and siblings in faith, to reject anti-semitism in all its forms, and to reject all kinds of other hatred, as well, and to remind us all that our identities as beloved children of the one and same God, is bound by that love.”
We then lit six remembrance candles and recited Kaddish.
All of these acts were moving, but next came something that brought pain and healing to my soul.
Mark Ludwig, the executive director of the Terezin Music Foundation spoke. He told us about Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas, Viktor Ullmann, Hans Krása, and many other artists who, while imprisoned in Terezin, composed and performed music that nourished their spirits amidst the great suffering all around them. He told us about Brundibar a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, made famous by performances by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp and filmed as part of Nazi propaganda.
Together, Jews and non-Jews, Muslims and Christians watched this black and white film, created by the Nazis, of the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp singing.
When the film ended, we were brought back to the present, and our battered souls were healed by a trio from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and by the Brookline High School Camerata, who presented, and sang, this same music. Voices from the past had come alive.
As I listened to the music I closed my eyes and I thought about the lives of those who wrote and performed this music and perished and then I saw the music alive filling the sacred space of Kehillath Israel Sanctuary in Brookline. The pain and the hope were intertwined in that music.
To listen to the children of Terezin followed by listening to the voices of a diverse group of teenagers of Brookline was cathartic. Voices were silenced and killed, and new voices are lifting up the music, the beauty, the hope, the possibility of redemption.
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This week's parsaha is parshat Acharei Mot. It begins with these words: “Adonai spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron…” But the main part of what follows are the directions to Aaron and the priests for the rituals of Yom Kippur. The ritual of expiation which is the source of the Yom Kippur holiday, our holiest day of the year and the day that focuses most of its liturgy and practices in facing our mortality so we can live a life of meaning. So it is after the tragedy of the death of the two sons, that we are reminded that new beginnings are possible and that it is up to us to make that happen, by lifting up our values, living meaningfully, fighting for a just world, a world that is not guided by hatred. A world where the voices of children singing are not silenced.
That is our commitment and that is our work.
May the memories of those who perished in the Shoah continue to guide our actions for a world that there is no more antisemitism, not nore hatred and more love.
I invite you to join the Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom Hashoah this Sunday, May 1st at 2pm organized by JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) for more information and to register go here.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom שבת שלום
Rav Claudia
*Please join me on Monday night for an evening in honor of Yom Ha'atzmaut as I join in conversation with Daniel Sokatch about his new book: Can We Talk about Israel. For more information go here, or see below.
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4:30pm
WonderMinyan Kabbalat Shabbat (Ages 0-7)
5:00pm
Shabbat Dinner for all families
(Sign up for dinner is closed.)
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By Phone: 1 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 864 8563 9530, Password: 863733
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For Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv we will be using this siddur.
You may want to have your candles, kiddush cup
and challah (or any bread) available to join in saying the blessings.
Check the Schedule of Service leaders HERE.
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Check the Schedule of Torah Study leaders HERE.
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By Phone: 1 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 864 8563 9530, Password: 863733
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Download the Program for Eitan's Bar Mitzvah HERE.
We will be using Siddur Lev Shalem for Shabbat and festivals.
You can download it HERE.
Download the Torah reading for Acharei Mot
Check the Schedule of Shabbat leaders HERE.
Kiddush lunch to follow.
Today's Kiddush is sponsored by the Wheeler-Segal family
in honor of Eitan's Bar Mitzvah.
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By Phone: 1 929 436 2866, Meeting ID: 864 8563 9530, Password: 863733
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Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays can be found HERE.
The Torah reading for Rosh Hodesh from can be found HERE. (PAGE 320)
Bat Mitzvah program can be found HERE.
Kiddush lunch to follow.
Today's Kiddush is sponsored by the Rybeck Brodsky Family
in honor of Sardoine's Bat Mitzvah.
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Author Talk: Can we talk about Israel?
with Daniel Sokatch
in discussion with Rav Claudia
7:00-8:30pm via Zoom
"Can't you just explain the Israel situation to me? In, like, 10 minutes or less?" This is the question Daniel Sokatch is used to answering on an almost daily basis as the head of the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis, not just Jews. Sokatch is supremely well-versed on the Israeli conflict.
Sokatch’s latest book, Can We Talk About Israel?, is the story of that conflict, and of why so many people feel so strongly about it without actually understanding it very well at all. It is an attempt to grapple with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as (and indeed are) victims. And it's an attempt to explain why Israel (and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) inspires such extreme feelings -- why it seems like Israel is the answer to “what is wrong with the world” for half the people in it, and “what is right with the world” for the other half. As Sokatch asks, is there any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?
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A generous donor has given 5 copies of the book Can We Talk About Israel? for TBZ community members who otherwise could not afford to purchase the book themselves. If you would like to request one of these, please contact Stephanie in the office.
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